This invention relates to a containing structure for a circuit board and more particularly to a containing structure for a circuit board in which the circuit board can be readily inserted into a casing in an electronic control apparatus. This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Public Disclosure JP-A-2005-213774, filed Jul. 25, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Conventionally, an electronic control apparatus to be mounted on a motor vehicle contains in a casing a circuit board on which electronic elements are mounted. Some casings are provided in the interior with guide grooves that serve to guide the circuit board into the casing and hold it at a predetermined position in the casing.
For example, in Japanese Patent Public Disclosure 2000-49475 JP-A-2000-49475), the width of each guide groove at an inlet side for a circuit board is set to be great enough to enable the circuit board to be inserted into the casing.
The width of the guide groove may be enlarged at the inlet side of the casing to form a wide mouthed portion as disclosed in JP-A-2000-49475. In that case, when a circuit board 2 is inserted into the casing 1 slantwise, as shown in FIG. 8, a leading end 2a of the circuit board 2 contacts a slant surface 4 on the wide mouthed portion 3a, which is formed by widening a width of the guide groove 3, and the guide groove 3 restrains an inserting direction of the circuit board 2.
Thus, in the case where the guide groove 3 is provided with the wide mouthed portion 3a, an inlet port for the circuit board 2 becomes larger, thereby facilitating insertion of the circuit board 2 into the casing 1.